Ternay Castle Park

The start of the walk begins in front of the entrance to the castle.

How about taking a short walk in the castle grounds (take the map with you).

• The alleys: They bear the name of more or less illustrious characters who have walked in this park before you:

• The alley knight Bertrand de Beauvau: The builder of this castle. You will first come across a very old locust tree and a very large laricio pine then lime trees, chestnut trees, ash trees, Judean trees, hairy oaks, hornbeams, American red oaks, downy oaks, hazel trees, further on are planted wild cherry trees and maritime pines accompanied by heather and gorse. This alley is an old Roman road.
• Allée René d'Anjou: The knight Bertrand de Beauvau was the best friend of the good king René, the latter came to Ternay in 1450 while the new castle was still under construction. This path is lined with oaks, lime trees and a few palm laurels.
• Allée de la Dame Blanche d'Anjou: This is Blanche d'Anjou, natural daughter of King René mentioned above, she was the fourth wife of the Chevalier de Beauvau. This path is lined with maritime pines, American red oaks and ferns.
• Alley of the knight of Arsac of Ternay: The knight of Arsac of Ternay spent all his childhood at the castle before achieving an exemplary career in the Royal Navy. After many exploits on all the seas of the world, he was appointed admiral of the fleet of Louis XVI. He successfully transported Rochambeau's troops to the New World to help the Americans gain independence. He died in Newport in 1781. This alley is lined with oaks, pines, alis, gorse and heather.
• Avenue du château: The old revolving bridge which used to cross the moat and the surrounding wall in the 15th century was no longer practicable, and access to the château had to be modified three centuries later. The old cedars that line the avenue were not planted until 1905. The storm of 1999 unfortunately caused very significant damage.
• The princess alley of Brézé: Second wife of the Chevalier de Beauvau, it is for her that the castle of Ternay was built. First some chestnut trees then you will cross a very beautiful plantation of cherry trees alternating with sycamore maples, young corm trees, viburnum, old downy oaks, hazel trees, alis trees and a few chestnut trees bordering this path.
• Allée Blanche de Castille: This great queen of France, mother of Louis IX passed by Ternay accompanied by her son still too young to reign in 1228. The memory of this moment is related in the legend of St Landor. This small alley is covered with cyclamen from Naples in autumn.
• Allée du Chatelet: Ide du Chatelet was the third wife of the Chevalier de Beauvau. Alley lined with laburnum, oaks, hornbeams, lime trees. Favorite playground for badgers and foxes.
• Allée du Couëdic: Illustrious Breton family from which came a very great 18th century sailor: Lieutenant Charles Louis du Couëdic.
• Allée de Courtivron: This is the grandmother's maiden name, you will discover her beautiful portrait in one of the château's salons.
• Allée du Fou: Grand Constable and Chef des Tas, this alley is one of his many creations in the park of the castle. Maritime pines, young beeches, oaks, heather and gorse line this path.
• Allée Fouquet: Nothing to do with the minister of the same name, this is the manager who bought the castle as national property during the period of revolutionary turmoil. Mainly downy oaks.
• Allée Henry IV: The king came to the castle of Ternay on September 27 and 28, 1587. This alley runs along one of the truffles planted with holm oaks and downy oaks. It is forbidden to walk in this truffle.
• Allée St Landor: Main character of the legend that bears his name; ask the owners, they will tell you. Bordered by lime and oak trees.
• Allée de Montfort: The members of the Ternay family who welcome you to this castle may have come from Simon de Montfort (see the Albigensian crusade).
• Driveway lined with oaks and young walnut trees.
• Allée Teranus: Gallic chief who Latinized his name around the 3rd century, transformed again, Teranus will become Ternay around the tenth century.
• Allée de Tigny: Last name of the mother of the builder of this castle. You pass here under the foliage of young walnut trees.
• Allée Tourlandry: The first wife of the Chevalier de Beauvau. Under its hundred-year-old boxwood were found 70 Chinese and Vietnamese coins dated between 1840 and 1870. Isn't that enigmatic?
• Allée François Villon: Highwayman and great poet of the second half of the 15th century, he probably lived in Ternay under the protection of the Chevalier de Beauvau in the last years of his life.
• Everywhere in the park and its surroundings you can discover in April, May, June and July a beautiful collection of wild orchids (orchids and ophrys), some are very rare, please never pick them.

• Remarkable points:

• La Grande Avière: The park of the castle is a reserve, it is therefore strictly forbidden to hunt there. From 200 to 400 young pheasants are released in this enclosure every year, they grow there in peace, sheltered from humans and predators, only a few variable buzzards come from time to time to feast there. When the pheasants are old enough to fly they can leave the enclosure by passing over it. This type of aviary is called an English aviary.
• La Mare de Piolant: Here is another illustrious name: a lady from Aviau de Piolant was the governess of the children of King Henry IV, she was entrusted by the Queen of France with the education of the future King Louis XIII, the Duchess of Savoy and the future Queen of Spain. Hidden in a cupboard, she witnessed the assassination of the Duke of Guise at the castle of Blois on December 23, 1588.
• The swimming pool: The troglodyte environment of the swimming pool dates from the Merovingian period, around the 6th century. The underground refuge, strewn with traps and loopholes, was a very effective fortification system. Please ensure that the door to the pool is always securely closed for safety reasons.
• The ruins of the Icehouse: Unfortunately today in ruins, this icehouse was built in the 17th century. Imagine that at the castle table, you could at that time serve sorbets in the middle of summer.
• Vieux Chêne Square: Oaks do not grow very quickly in this land, it must be very old. The view from this place is splendid. A bench, a good book, all is well.
• The Vieux Cormier square: Here is another remarkable tree: reaching such a size in such a hostile environment for a cormier who prefers a certain solitude, it is on the order of records. Its very dense wood was used to make tool handles, rulers and other precision instruments, gears for windmills and water mills. It is also a very nice wood for cabinet making.
• The Tournois square: It is on this ground that the castle's tennis court was installed before the last world war; it was destroyed by the German army.
• Les Trous du Diable: Warning dangerous environment, these troglodyte caves are well hidden, do not fall into them. Many of the Merovingian dwellings in the region were inhabited, fitted out, modified until the beginning of the 20th century, this one has the particularity of having retained its original appearance. Meticulously excavated by archaeologists, these cavities have proven to be a very beautiful testimony to the Merovingian way of life. Tools, pottery and weapons were found there. A few mounds all around are tumuli.
• The Gallo-Roman Tumulus: The site of the castle has been inhabited since the dawn of time: Gauls, Romans and then Merovingians resided on the top of this plateau which dominates the Dive valley, so it is not abnormal to find ancient burials there. Perfectly circular in shape, this tumulus is dated from the 1st to the 3rd century. Maybe Teranus is sleeping under there. Other graves in the park are oblong in shape and generally dated to the Merovingian period (sixth to eighth century)

• Fauna: It would not be surprising if you come across some wild animals of the woods, if you did not see them it is perhaps because, disturbed by the noise or worried by the smells, they ran away. However, it is not uncommon to come across (scholarly but unconventional classification):

• The two terrible mastiffs: Madame Gargouille and Mademoiselle Option. They love hugs and accompanying you. It is forbidden to feed them.
• Hairy on all fours: Deer, wild boar, roe deer, fox, badger, rabbit, hare, all kinds of field mice and shrews, wild cat, squirrel.
• Plumes on two legs: All kinds of sparrows, tit, robin, pigeon, hoopoe, cuckoo, jay, green woodpecker, crow, magpie, black woodpecker, buzzard, saint martin, kestrel, barn owl, tawny owl, owl, owl, mallard, yellow oriole…
• Scaly fish without or with legs: Green and yellow snake, grass snake, Aesculapius snake, common worm, green lizard, wall lizard. No danger, they are all harmless.
• The hairless, featherless, or tortoiseshell but four-legged: Common toad, calamite toad, green tree frog, Lessona's frog, spotted salamander, palmate newt, crested newt.
• Things sometimes hairy or with a shell but always with two pairs of wings and six legs: List too long, there are too many insects to name them all, so none will be mentioned!
• The things with eight legs and 4 eyes: The spiders have not been referenced, it's up to you to discover them, there are all colors and sizes. No dangerous.

Have a nice walk!